Eventually the religious tone of chimes ushered in large group sequences in a more formal language before the dancers began crawling on their backs with large cardboard boxes resting on their stomachs. Ensuing solos, duos, and trios delineated distinct relationships. In a duet with Sydney Chow and Nouhoim Koita, the box became a love object. Like parents of a newborn, they supported the box─continuously repositioning it between them. They danced around it. One partner carried the other, who held onto the box. And, in a final turn, they tossed it aside and ignored it. In another dynamic interaction, Donterreo Culp and Nouhoum Koita taunted  each other by keeping the prized box moving as in a game of Keep Away. 

Throughout the non-stop action, a sofa (propped up on its side), a card table, folding chairs, and a pot of flowers appeared. The dance climaxed with a no-holds-barred domestic scene. In a pas de deux suffused with slapstick humor and pathos, Sydney Chow and Gary Reagan portrayed a couple unable to connect. Surrounded by the trappings of domestic fulfillment (they managed to sit on the sofa right side up eventually), they tried to conform to the actions of a “happy couple.” But with each succeeding move─executed at a rapid fire─they reverted to their separate worlds. She is consumed with everything being in its perfect place; he just wants his space. The scene reached its tipping point with the couple piling up the furniture as a barricade between them. 

In the final act, the whole company repositioned the furniture while Reagan took a “time out” on the sofa and Chow clutched the flowerpot: two traumatized children clinging to their comfort rituals. Eventually, the two reconnected and the furniture gradually disappeared. Having tasted the endless invention of “Castles,” I do hope Gallim reprises the full work.